The Boston University senior, who has always faced his lack of playing time with a shrug and a team-first attitude, figured his recent five-game run replacing injured defenseman Brian Strait was a well-timed capper to his career.

Having suited up for the final two regular-season games and the Hockey East quarterfinal series win over Maine, Smolinsky sat out the league semis and final and was ready to do the same for the NCAA tournament, content to return to the behind-the-scenes work for which he has drawn raves from his teammates and coaches.

Then sophomore Joe Pereira ruptured his spleen in the Hockey East title game and there was Smolinsky out on the ice again – this time as a fourth-line right winger – for the Terriers’ two-game run through the NCAA Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H.

Surprise, surprise.

“It was exciting to play,” said Smolinsky, who hails from Plymouth and played at BC High and Salisbury (Conn.) School. “I wish we still had Joey. No one wishes that upon anyone. He’s a great kid, a big part of our team. Seeing him go down like that was tough. But it felt good to be out there playing. And we got the wins.”

Smolinsky could be back on the ice Thursday at the Frozen Four when top-ranked BU (33-6-4) faces Hockey East foe Vermont (22-11-5) in the national semifinals (8:30 p.m., ESPN2). Bemidji State and Miami (Ohio) clash in Thursday’s early game (5 p.m., ESPN2) with the winners advancing to Saturday’s final (7 p.m., ESPN).

Smolinsky is the only one of BU’s six seniors who isn’t a regular. Honestly, he’s the only one of the six who isn’t a bona fide star.

There’s defenseman Matt Gilroy, a co-captain and Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist who has eight goals, 28 assists and 36 points – not bad for a former walk-on forward who went undrafted. And then there are four talented forwards – co-captain John McCarthy (6-23–29), rugged Brandon Yip (20-21–41), playmaker Chris Higgins (13-30–43) and sniper Jason Lawrence (24-13–37).

Smolinsky (one assist in 12 here-and-there games) can’t match those numbers, but his classmates are glad to have him joining in the fun. “To see Steve in the lineup is unbelievable,” Lawrence said. “Steve is one of the hardest workers on this team, night in and night out. It wouldn’t be the same team without Steve.”

Page 2 of 2 - And it wouldn’t be nearly as successful a team without the full senior class. Sophomores Colin Wilson (15-37–52) and Nick Bonino (17-30–47) are the Terriers’ top two point-producers, but the elder statesmen are the collective glue that has held BU together.

“The captains and the seniors run this team,” coach Jack Parker said. “I mean that in a literal way. They keep everybody on the straight and narrow; they keep everybody focused. They’re the heart and soul of this team. We’ve got some great freshmen and some great sophomores and some great juniors. But the senior class in total, the guys who get a lot of ice time and the guys who get just a little ice time, are the guys who run this club.”

Fueled by last year’s no-NCAA season, the seniors have been prodding their teammates down this path since offseason workouts began.

“As a group of seniors we really took it upon ourselves this year to try to get things done,” Lawrence said. “From the beginning of the season on, the leadership of the captains down through the senior class has been something that really has driven this team to where it’s been and where it’s going.”

Already these seniors are trailblazers – the first class to play their entire career at Agganis Arena. Last year’s seniors began their freshman season at Walter Brown Arena before switching over to the new digs in January 2005.

Said Lawrence: “It’s always good to be the first at something.”

How about finishing the four-year journey by becoming the first BU seniors since 1995 to win an NCAA crown?

“It’d be tremendous,” Yip said, “the experience of a lifetime.”

Not to mention a truly fitting ending – for real this time – to Smolinsky’s career.

“We’ve had talks with some of the guys from the ’95 team about how unbelievable it was, how it’s something you’ll never forget,” Smolinsky said. “We’ve been working for four years to get where we are right now. We want to go as far as possible and be national champs.”